I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe. Thank you to Tracy Fenton for asking me to be part of the tour. I received a copy of the book but I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

There seems to be a flurry of books about the second world war and more specifically, Auschwitz, being released. Perhaps partly down to the success of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but whatever the cause is pretty irrelevant. The fact is that these books tell readers a very important story.

I had always considered myself well educated when it comes to the horrific actions of the German Army and their treatment of those that they considered to be less than themselves. But each book I have read teaches me something new.

The Librarian of Auschwitz starts off by telling us that the author had talked at length with Dita Kraus, who had been the librarian during her time in the concentration camp, a job that had been incredibly risky, but one she was determined to do.

It feels a bit funny saying that I enjoyed reading this book, after all how could anyone get any enjoyment out of the horror that is written about in this book. But I did enjoy reading it, I loved reading about how people were determined to stay true to themselves despite what was going on around them.

People like Dita, who was lucky enough to get a job in the tent where the children went each day. Staff there were meant to sing songs and play games, no teaching was allowed, but that is exactly what they did. With people keeping watch for the Nazi soldiers, the staff told the children stories about the world outside the camp they were kept in. They carved pencils from sticks and burnt the ends so children could write a few words, they found a way to mark the Jewish holiday’s and they found a way to have books, kept hidden under floorboards that could be borrowed for lessons.

Dita showed a strength and determination that was beyond her years, but her beloved books that she worked so hard to keep hidden helped her escape from the horrors around her as she found places to hide and read.

How anyone managed to survive the Nazi Concentration Camps is beyond me, the inner strength and will to survive they must have possessed is inspirational. This book gives us detail of the horrors they experienced and it is not easy reading. But it is important, we must never forget what happened and books like this, fiction and easily accessible to all yet heavily based on real life events and people are essential for bringing the stories to people who wouldn’t sit down to read a history book.

The Librarian of Auschwitz is a powerful book, it is an important book and it is powerful story of people’s fight to survive. Please read this book, it is a story you should know.

Blurb:

For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice: this is the story of the smallest library in the world – and the most dangerous.

‘It wasn’t an extensive library. In fact, it consisted of eight books and some of them were in poor condition. But they were books. In this incredibly dark place, they were a reminder of less sombre times, when words rang out more loudly than machine guns…’

Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious books the prisoners have managed to smuggle past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the secret librarian of Auschwitz, responsible for the safekeeping of the small collection of titles, as well as the ‘living books’ – prisoners of Auschwitz who know certain books so well, they too can be ‘borrowed’ to educate the children in the camp.

But books are extremely dangerous. They make people think. And nowhere are they more dangerous than in Block 31 of Auschwitz, the children’s block, where the slightest transgression can result in execution, no matter how young the transgressor…

About The Author:

Antonio Iturbe lives in Spain, where he is both a novelist and a journalist. In researching The Librarian of Auschwitz, he interviewed Dita Kraus, the real-life librarian of Auschwitz. Lilit Zekulin Thwaites is an award-winning literary translator. After thirty years as an academic at La Trobe University in Australia, she retired from teaching and now focuses primarily on her ongoing translation and research projects. Dita Kraus was born in Prague. In 1942, when Dita was thirteen years old , she and her parents were deported to Ghetto Theresienstadt and later to Auschwitz,. Neither of Dita’s parents survived. After the war Dita married the author Otto B. Kraus. They emigrated to Israel in 1949, where they both worked as teachers They had three children. Since Otto’s death in 2000 , Dita lives alone in Netanya. She has four grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Despite the horrors of the concentration camps, Dita has kept her positive approach to life.

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe is out now and is available from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

Wow, I love it when a book blogger I know gets a book deal! Kim Nash of the fabulous blog Kim The Bookworm and works as Publicity and Social Media Manager at one of my favourite publishers, Bookouture. So I was very excited to read Kim’s debut novel, it isn’t a genre that I normally read but I was more than happy to make an exception.

I received a copy of Amazing Grace by Kim Nash from the publisher, Hera Books. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own. Thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for asking me to be part of the blog tour.

My Review:

Well, where do I start? I don’t read a lot of rom-com or romance or comedy or anything else that can be called light and fluffy. So perhaps I’m not the target audience for Amazing Grace by Kim but I was very excited to read it.

Grace is a character that I could relate to in many ways. She’s a single mother with a boy called Archie, her ex husband is a manipulating, cheating b*&%!*d. Grace’s self esteem is pretty low, all she wants is the best for her son but she constantly doubts herself.

She has a best friend who tries to help her get back on her feet after her divorce, getting her to pay attention to what she’s wearing and dragging her to the hairdresser. This friend also joins her up to a dating app and organises a few dates her her which are all rather disastrous. I’m not sure that I’d ever forgive my friend for setting me up with the men she found though, talk about disastrous! And also rather hilarious.

But then enters Vinnie, gardener extraordinaire who happens to be rather handsome and single. Grace is full of doubt, perhaps Vinnie is too good to be true, or maybe she should go back to the useless ex? But gradually Grace is able to let her defences down and trust herself to do the right thing.

I really loved Grace as a character, she’d been through a lot but she was still fighting and trying to make the best life she can for herself and her son. She was such a believable and likeable character and I loved reading about her as she slowly grew in confidence and reaped the rewards of her hard work.

Grace is also grieving the death of her mother, and her mother is a big part of the story as she regularly talks to Grace. This was the one bit that I wasn’t really sure about, but it worked well in the book and helped to give Grace the strength to keep going and do the best she can do.

Amazing Grace is an excellent debut novel, Kim Nash has created some wonderful characters who are believable and warm, people that you can imagine being your friends. The book was easy to read, it made me laugh and I probably spent a lot of the time reading it smiling, I’m sure that it will bring a tear or two to many as well.

I enjoyed my break from thrillers and crime books and I am looking forward to reading more from the author.

Blurb:

She’s taking her life back, one step at a time…

Grace thought she had it all. Living in the beautiful village of Little Ollington, along with head teacher husband Mark and gorgeous son, Archie, she devoted herself to being the perfect mum and the perfect wife, her little family giving her everything she ever wanted.

Until that fateful day when she walked in on Mark kissing his secretary – and her perfect life fell apart.

Now she’s a single mum to Archie, trying to find her way in life and keep things together for his sake. Saturday nights consist of a Chinese takeaway eaten in front of the TV clad in greying pyjamas, and she can’t remember the last time she had a kiss from anyone aside from her dog, Becks…

Grace’s life needs a shake up – fast. So when gorgeous gardener Vinnie turns up on her doorstep, his twinkling eyes suggesting that he might be interested in more than just her conifers, she might just have found the answer to her prayers. But as Grace falls deeper for Vinnie, ten-year-old Archie fears that his mum finding love means she’ll never reconcile with the dad he loves.

So when ex-husband Mark begs her for another chance, telling her he’s changed from the man that broke her heart, Grace finds herself with an impossible dilemma. Should she take back Mark and reunite the family that Archie loves? Or risk it all for a new chance of happiness?

A funny, feel good romance about finding your own path and changing your life for the better – readers of Cathy Bramley, Jill Mansell and Josie Silver will love this uplifting read.

About The Author:

Kim Nash lives in Staffordshire with son Ollie and English Setter Roni, is PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture and is a book blogger at www.kimthebookworm.co.uk.

Kim won the Romantic Novelists Association’s Media Star of the Year in 2016, which she still can’t quite believe. She is now quite delighted to be a member of the RNA.

When she’s not working or writing, Kim can be found walking her dog, reading, standing on the sidelines of a football pitch cheering on Ollie and binge watching box sets on the TV. She’s also quite partial to a spa day and a gin and tonic (not at the same time!) Kim also runs a book club in Cannock, Staffs.

Amazing Grace is her debut novel with Hera Books and will be out on 10th April 2019

Today is it my stop on the blog tour for The Courier by Kjell Ola Dahl and published by Orenda Books. Thank you to Anne Cater for asking me to be part of the tour. I was given a copy of the book but was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

It seems that there is a wave of books about the second world war, they are everywhere and hard to avoid. I considered myself quite knowledgeable about the second world war and the treatment of Jewish people during the war in Europe. But every book I have read recently has taught me something new, and I have often been shocked at the huge chunks of knowledge that I am missing.

The Courier was one of the books that did just that. I did not know that Norway was so caught up in the war, I had no idea that Jewish people in Norway were persecuted and sent to concentration camps in Poland.

The story revolves around Ester and her experiences, starting with her fleeing Norway for Sweden when the gestapo come for her family, Ester worked as a courier, helping to smuggle illegal newspapers out of Oslo.

It seems that Ester is well connected, knowing many people, some of whom are helpful and others that bring trouble to Ester, both is 1942 and again in 1967 when people are brought back together when someone they all thought was dead turned up very much alive.

The book alternates between the two timelines and I have to admit that I found that confusing for a good part of the book. There are also many names to remember, which for my brain is made even harder by them not being familiar names, although eventually I got the hang of it. There is a small part set in 2015 too.

The story is interesting, I liked the simplicity of the writing, and how everything ties together. Ester is a great character, she’s strong and resilient and she is definitely not someone to be best with. I like a feisty female character and Ester fits the bill perfectly.

The conclusion of the book was not what I expected, it was well done and fitted well with the story.

The Courier is a great example of Nordic Noir, if you haven’t read the genre then you really should, and this book is a great place to start.

Blurb:

In Oslo in 1942, Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In great haste, she escapes to Sweden whilst the rest of her family is deported to Auschwitz.

In Stockholm, Ester meets the resistance hero, Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and allegations that he murdered his wife, Åse, Ester ’s childhood best friend. A relationship develops between them, but ends abruptly when Falkum dies in a fire.

And yet, twenty-five years later, Falkum shows up in Oslo. Hewants to reconnect with his daughter Turid. But where has hebeen, and what is the real reason for his return? Ester stumblesacross information that forces her to look closely at her past,and to revisit her war-time training to stay alive…

Written with Dahl’s trademark characterisation and clever plotting, The Courier sees one of Norway’s most critically acclaimed authors at his best, as he takes on one of the most horrifying periods of modern history. With its sophisticated storytelling and elegant prose, this stunning and compelling wartime thriller is reminiscent of the writing of John Le Carré and William Boyd.

About The Author:

One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eleven novels, the most prominent of which is a series of police procedurals cum psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.

Today I have a review of The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson. Thank you to Anne Cater for having me on the blog tour. I received a copy of the book from the publisher but I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

I really wanted to love The Oceans Between Us by Gill Thompson. The story of orphans from England being sent to Australia during the second world war is something that I think many people don’t know about and probably even less know the awful way those children were treated once they stepped off the boat.

The story has different chapters told by a few characters. The main two are Molly and Jack, mother and son who get separated and don’t know whether the other is alive. When Jack is taken to Australia it seems likely that neither of them will find out what happened to the other which feels awfully sad.

Jack has a horrible time in Australia, it isn’t nice reading and it’s even worse knowing that it is based on real events. But Jack is one of the lucky ones and he is adopted by a childless couple who give him a whole new life.

I liked that Molly and Jack, although separated by many miles, had some events in common, they were still linked in some way despite being many miles apart.

I’m not going to give away the ending, it probably isn’t what you’re thinking it is though.

However, I felt that the book was far too long. Although it was never boring as such it did drag on and could easily have been condensed and shortened without losing any important parts of the story. I found myself checking just how much longer the book had, thinking that surely it must finish soon, but it didn’t. I find it such a shame when a good book becomes something that drags on and so ruins the story. It is well written and has many great characters, but it really didn’t need to be so long.

But if you are interested in the story of what happened to the orphans taken to Australia then this will be a great book for you to read and learn and understand. And it is something that we should all know about.

Blurb:

Inspired by heartrending real events, a mother fights to find her son and a child battles for survival in this riveting debut novel.

For readers of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, The Letter by Kathryn Hughes, and Remember Me by Lesley Pearse.

A woman is found wandering injured in London after an air raid. She remembers nothing of who she is. Only that she has lost something very precious.

As the little boy waits in the orphanage, he hopes his mother will return. But then he finds himself on board a ship bound for Australia, the promise of a golden life ahead, and wonders: how will she find him in a land across the oceans?

In Perth, a lonely wife takes in the orphaned child. But then she discovers the secret of his past. Should she keep quiet? Or tell the truth and risk losing the boy who has become her life?

This magnificent, moving novel, set in London and Australia, is testament to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of love.

About The Author:

Gill Thompson is an English lecturer who recently completed an MA in Creative Writing at Chichester University. The first three chapters of THE OCEANS BETWEEN US were longlisted for the Mslexia novel award. She lives with her family in West Sussex and teaches English to college students.

I’m delighted to be part of the blog tour for A Fool’s Circle by Suzanne Seddon. I received a copy of A Fool’s Circle from the publisher, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

My Review:

I found A Fool’s Circle to be an easy read that quickly grabbed my attention and made me want to keep reading.

Kate is suffering thanks to her husband Alan who treats her awfully, there are a number of scenes where this abuse is described which some readers may find difficult.

Kate is in a difficult situation as she doesn’t know how to leave Alan and protect her eight year old daughter Sophie. Until she finds out that she has had a rather large inheritance and suddenly a whole new world opens up to her.

It was pretty clear from the start that Kate put her trust in people who didn’t deserve it and who definitely didn’t have her interest at heart. It was frustrating at times that Kate couldn’t see what was so very obvious.

Some of A Fool’s Circle didn’t really seem realistic, it was a little too far fetched at times and the police really were slow, but I really enjoyed reading it and I wanted to know what was going to happen. It is also good that the book might make people think about domestic violence and the impact of that on all the family.

A Fool’s Circle is an easy read that only took me a few days to read (that’s fast for me!) and I’m sure that fans of psychological thrillers will enjoy this book that keeps you guessing and wondering if everyone is who they say they are.

Blurb:

Kate Sanders has suffered many years of physical and mental abuse at the hands of her abusive husband Alan, and convinces herself that she is only holding the family together for the sake of her eight-year-old daughter. If it wasn’t for her best friend Jill Reynolds, she would have taken the suicide option a long time ago.

As she desperately seeks a way to escape, she is contacted by a solicitor. Kate’s old aunt has died and she has been left a small fortune.

For the first time, she sees the light at the end of the tunnel. She dreams of a fresh start, a new home, a new life. What Kate doesn’t know is that Jill and Alan have their own secrets, and are both desperate to get their hands on her money.

Kate soon finds herself falling for the charms of Jonathon Jacobs in what she believes to be fate finally intervening and offering her a second chance, unaware that each move he makes has been directed, orchestrated and well-rehearsed as he begs her to leave her husband Alan.

But is it all too late, as she finds herself in the frame for murder.A

About The Author:

Suzanne Seddon was born in 1968 in Islington, London. After leaving school she had many interesting jobs, from swimming teacher to air hostess, and was able to travel the globe. Now a single mum to her teenage daughter Poppy-willow, Suzanne spends her days writing and has written several articles for magazines and newspapers.

Growing up, Suzanne witnessed mental and physical abuse within her own family which strongly influenced her when she wrote her first play, A Fool’s Circle, when she attended the famous Anna Scher Theatre. Suzanne, however, was not content to leave it there and decided to go ahead and transform her play into a novel.

Not one to shy away from exciting challenges, she also wrote, acted, directed, cast and produced a trailer for the book around her hometown in Islington with the support of local businesses, who recognised the drive and importance of Suzanne and her work.

Suzanne is a passionate writer and she is determined to be heard so that the issue of domestic abuse is raised amongst the public’s consciousness, empowering others to speak out. She wants those who suffer at the hands of another to have their voices heard, loud and clear.

I’m very excited to be part of the blog tour for Only Daughter by Sarah A Denzil. I really enjoyed Sarah’s book, Silent Child, which I reviewed on my blog. That review is the most viewed post on here, and for some reason it made it to the first page of Google results when you searched for the book. I wish that I knew how that happened so that I could do it again but I have absolutely no idea. Anyway, Silent Child was a great read so I was keen to read Only Daughter too.

My Review:

Having loved some of the authors previous books I was keen to read Only Daughter and started reading it without knowing what it was about, the blurb didn’t matter because I knew that I wanted to read a book written by Sarah A Denzil.

The book started with a bang and the twists and turns kept going from there. Kat’s beloved daughter is dead and the police are refusing to look into her death as they are convinced that it was a simple suicide. But Kat is adamant that her daughter wouldn’t have done that and so starts on a determined search for the truth.

What she discovered was not what she had ever expected, her daughter wasn’t the kind and happy girl that Kat thought and she is forced to question everything.

This was such a clever book, Kat is a flawed character who seemed to be so aware of that and I felt that added a clever element to the story as Kat discovers just as much about herself as she does about her daughter.

I’m not going to give too much away but if you like twisty books that keep you guessing and wondering and thinking then this is a book for you. Sarah Denzil really is an author to look out for and I’m looking forward to reading her next book!

Thank you to Bookouture for a copy of Only Child by Sarah A Denzil. I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.

Blurb:

The must-read psychological thriller for 2019 from the million-copy-bestselling author of Silent Child.

‘Your daughter is dead.’

When Kat Cavanaugh hears the words every mother dreads, her perfect world shatters. She takes in the beautiful long blonde hair, torn yellow dress and chipped blue nail-varnish. It can’t be real.

And then the police add the word ‘suicide’. But Kat refuses to believe them.

Even when they show her the familiar looping handwriting and smudged ink on the note her little girl left behind. She knows her bubbly, vivacious daughter would never take her own life.

As she searches Grace’s perfume-scented room, filled with smiling photos, she uncovers secrets her little girl had been hiding. Secrets that could put her in terrible danger too.

But Kat’s determined to find out what really happened to Grace on the night she died, whatever it takes…

This addictive and heart-pounding psychological thriller will keep you gripped late into the night.

About The Author:

Sarah A. Denzil is a British suspense writer from Derbyshire. In her alternative life–AKA Sarah Dalton–she writes speculative fiction for teenagers, including The Blemished, Mary Hades and White Hart.

Sarah lives in Yorkshire with her partner, enjoying the scenic countryside and rather unpredictable weather.

Saving April, Sarah’s debut suspense thriller, is a psychological look into the minds of the people around us who we rarely even consider – our neighbours. What do we really know about them, and what goes on when the doors are closed?

I was delighted to be asked to read The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen by Fleur Clarke from Harper Collins Publishers. I really didn’t know what to expect but it sounded exciting and I was excited to read it.

My Review:

At first I wasn’t quite sure what to think of The Other Half of Augusta Hope because Augusta is really rather odd. The way that she thinks is seen as odd by everyone around her, her mother seems not to know what to do with her and her father is embarrassed by her.

Augusta feels really quite alone, but she has a twin sister, Julia, who is always there for her. Until she isn’t. As they grow the siblings naturally grow apart, mainly because of a boy that Julia falls for.

Gradually, Augusta Hope worked her way under my skin, there was a lot to love about her and I think that I wanted to be her friend. Another book that made me feel like this was Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and I am sure that Augusta Hope will get compared to Eleanor Oliphant, as they both feature a quirky main character who is isolated and considered strange by many around them. I really hope that the books don’t get compared though, as that would be doing both a disservice.

Part of The Other Half of Augusta Hope is set in Burundi, a small country in Africa that Augusta decides is to be her favourite country in the world and so she devours facts and learns everything that she can about the country.

We also hear from Parfait, a young boy living in Burundi who at first seems quite random, how will he fit into the story? Of course it soon becomes clear.

Some of this book is set in a small town in England, some is set in Burundi and the rest in Tarifa in Spain. I loved the parts in Spain, Augusta loves it there and that really shows in the story, I’ve never been there but I could see it all so perfectly in my mind.

By the time the book finished I was totally in love with the story and the characters and I did not want it to end. It is very rare that a book makes me cry, but The Other Half of Augusta Hope came very close. It was beautifully written and it all felt so real.

That The Other Half of Augusta Hope is authors Joanna Glen’s first book is really quite amazing and I can’t wait to hear more from the author.

Blurb:

YOU’RE NOT LOST.YOU’RE JUST LOOKING.

Augusta Hope has never felt like she fits in.

And she’s right – she doesn’t. At six, she’s memorising the dictionary. At seven, she’s correcting her teachers. At eight, she spins the globe and picks her favourite country on the sound of its name: Burundi.

And now that she’s an adult, Augusta has no interest in the goings-on of the small town where she lives with her parents and her beloved twin sister, Julia.

When an unspeakable tragedy upends everything in Augusta’s life, she’s propelled headfirst into the unknown. She’s determined to find where she belongs – but what if her true home, and heart, are half a world away?

AUGUSTA MAY NOT FEEL LIKE SHE FITS IN, BUT READERS ARE FALLING IN LOVE WITH HER…

About The Author:

Joanna Glen graduated with First Class Honours in Spanish from the University of London, with a stint at the Faculty of Arts at Córdoba University in the hot south of Spain. She went on to teach Spanish and English to all ages, and latterly was a School Principal in London. She has edited a variety of non-fiction books, is a visiting lecturer, a communications coach and an adviser and trainer for schools. Joanna’s short fiction has appeared in the Bath Flash Fiction Anthology. She lives with her husband and children on the River Thames in Battersea, returning to Andalusia whenever it gets too grey, and is currently writing her second novel.

The Other Half of Augusta Hope by Joanna Glen will be released on 13th June 2019 and is available to pre-order from Amazon UK.